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Where is the black samurai? is a performance work centered around Yasuke, an African man who was made a samurai by Japanese warlord, Oda Nobunaga, in the 16th century. It is an attempt to connect with this figure of Black strength. A contemporary body and experience is inserted into this history and the past is remixed in order to glean something new. However, there is always a degree of discomfort in the attempt. The performer, playing around with these artefacts of history and these motifs of “Black/African” expression, simultaneously asks, “Am i putting words into the mouth of a dead man?” The work makes use of a DIY aesthetic, incorporating paper collage, sound created using a freeware DAW, movement and voice-over.
Creation, design, and performance: Naledi Majola
Institute for Creative Arts Live Art Festival, Cape Town, 2018
Arcade2018, Cape Town, 2018